Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

UNITED STATES HELSINKI COMMISSION

An independant agency of the United States Government charged with monitoring and encouraging compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other commitments of the 55 countries participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Press Releases

U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION TO HOLD BRIEFING ON RISE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST ROMA

WASHINGTON—Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), announced today the Commission will hold a briefing on:

“Hard Times and Hardening Attitudes: The Economic Downturn and the Rise of Violence Against Roma”

WHEN: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

1 p.m.: Media availability with expert panelists

2 p.m.: Briefing begins

WHERE: 1539 Longworth House Office Building

Anti-Roma violence is escalating, dramatically illustrated by the gruesome murder of a father and his five-year-old son in Hungary in February and a fire-bombing in April that left a two-year-old child in the Czech Republic burned over 80 percent of her body. Such violence in the past has led to increased waves of Romani asylum seekers in North America.

The Commission will hear from four experts working on Romani human rights issues who will discuss how the down economy and recent spike in violence could combine for similar affects this year, possible inter-ethnic instability, and challenges to ending the marginalization of Europe’s largest ethnic minority.